The Dragon Soul Raid

World of Warcraft patch 4.3 will offer players the opportunity to take the fight to Wyrmrest Temple and beyond, assisting Thrall and the Dragon Aspects as they seek to bring an end to the Black Dragonflight once and for all. 10- and 25-person raids will get to take on Deathwing himself, with three levels of difficulty to consider and epic gear to claim.

Forged by Deathwing during the War of the Ancients, the Dragon Soul harnessed the power of the other dragonflights, until it was ultimately destroyed. After recovering a version of the artifact from the Caverns of Time, Thrall and the allied dragonflights now rally at Wyrmrest Temple in a desperate bid to use its might to defeat Deathwing.

Created by the titans as a sanctuary for all Dragonkind, the crumbling Wyrmrest Temple is now the final hope for the forces allied against the black dragon Neltharion, once the Earth-Warder and protector of Azeroth, now Deathwing the Destroyer. It is here that the remaining aspects -- Alexstrasza, Ysera, Nozdormu, Kalecgos, and Thrall -- have gathered to empower the Dragon Soul -- Azeroth's last chance to stop the great behemoth. As

Hour of Twilight

The final stage in this series of dungeons is set in the present-day Dragonblight, now under a full invasion by the Twilight's Hammer. Players must escort Thrall and the Dragon Soul safely to Wyrmrest Temple, where the assault on Deathwing is to commence. But the Twilight's Hammer forces are numerous, and their leadership remains strong. Those attacking the temple are commanded by a man known very well for the strength of will he's offered Alliance citizens. Now with his own will broken, he preaches only Deathwing's cataclysmic vision for all life on Azeroth.

Well of Eternity

Ten thousand years in the past, the night elven capital city of Zin-Azshari was a magnificent, sparkling metropolis. Situated on the shores of the Well of Eternity, Zin-Azshari was where the aristocratic Highborne first opened a portal into the Twisting Nether and invited the Burning Legion to invade Azeroth. Under the command of the night elven queen, Azshara, the Highborne now pour their energies into the portal, preparing it for the terrifying and glorious entrance of the titan Sargeras.

With a gateway to the past now open, Nozdormu will transport players to Azshara's

Cho'gall, once a key executor of the nihilistic Twilight's Hammer's vision, has been struck down. Lady Sinestra, consort of Deathwing and mother to the malevolent black dragons Nefarian and Onyxia, has fallen at the hands of great heroes. Ragnaros, lord of the realm of fire in the Elemental Plane, and Al’Akir, baron of the realm of air -- both mighty arbiters of Deathwing's destructive ends -- have themselves been purged. But even with so many of Deathwing's servants now vanquished, he freely roams the skies of Azeroth, wreaking havoc on the land and its people. It's in these darkest of hours that the forces standing against Deathwing must carry out a desperate plan to put an end to his devastating twilight flight.

The other Dragon Aspects, with allegiance from Thrall, have devised a dangerous and unorthodox strategy to bring Deathwing down once and for all. But to do so, they must acquire the Dragon Soul from a pivotal moment in the distant past... and they're going to need your help. In patch 4.3, level-85 players will gain access to three new Heroic-difficulty five-player dungeons, embarking on quests to aid the Aspects and other familiar faces in a

The NDA for interviews with Blizzard was lifted at midnight tonight PST and interviews are cropping up everywhere about 4.3 and the Deathwing encounter. The first one is Joystiq's interview with Tom Chilton. While it tells us a lot of old information, in particular stuff about transmogrification and void storage, it also tells us a lot of new information.

Like, you know, the three 5-mans and what their stories will be. And exactly how Deathwing's fight will unfold.

According to Chilton, Deathwing is a different sort of boss. " doesn't just kind of sit around....He doesn't have a throne to chill on, just waiting for people to show up and throw down the gauntlet." Instead, players must come to him and chase him; first through the three 5-mans, then later through the 10/25-man raid instance itself.

The first instance is called "Endtime" and it sends players into the future to see what Deathwing's victory means."And so you go into this grim vision of the future," says Chilton, "and essentially demonstrate to Nozdormu that this is what's going to happen if you don't send us back to the Well of Ete

Adventurers will be tested like never before in 4.3 as they take on Deathwing and his minions, emerging with powerful new treasures. Please enjoy this preview of the mage tier 13 set, as well as a visual guide to tiers 1 through 12 for Transmogrification purposes.

Timelord Regalia

It’s fun to put a spin on any caster class that moves it away from the usual wizardly archetype, and this set provided the perfect opportunity to do just that. Gnomish clockwork technology is an established part of the Warcraft universe, but it’s not something we’ve incorporated into a tier of player armor before. The combination of moving cogs, quilted fabric, and lots of buckled straps give the set an intriguing "techno-mage" flavor.